Tag
by Karianasan
Summary: Devious things happen, when someone's left up to their own devices a bit too long. Everyday, Slice of Life story. First Three chapters!
1. Chapter 1

Tucked away on the second floor, Daphne found herself milling about her room aimlessly and sighing. It had been several weeks without anything interesting happening, and it was starting to get to her. Usually by now, a mystery would pop out of nowhere... Or a friend or relative would appear needing her help. Something! But so far, she hadn't heard a peep out of anyone. No one needed them to solve a mystery, or needing help find a lost inheritance… Nothing! And it was starting to drive her crazy!

"I never thought I would want the possibility of being kidnapped... But at this point, I would rather have a ghoul jump out from the shadows then spend another few days dying of boredom in my room. Yeesh!"

Jumping into the air, she launched herself on to her bed with a huff. Daphne landed upon her bed with a whoosh, the impact being cushioned by her covers and pillows. Pulling an arm up, she rested her wrist upon her forehead as she stared up at the ceiling for the fifth time today... or had it been the sixth? …She had lost count by now. But either way, the view hadn't gotten any better. She had long gotten tired of the various cracks on the ceiling, and stop counting the little ridges and creases in the paint. And no matter what she did, she couldn't use her imagination to make images out of various shapes like Shaggy and Scooby could. Sometimes she was jealous of their skills to keep themselves entertained in even these kinds of times.

"Sigh! Bored _bored_ **bored!**" Daphne groaned, fed up with her current situation. Racking her brain, she tried to think up of something that she could do! But after a little bit, her mind yet again, came up empty. Since everything that came to mind, she had done already. And it was not worth doing again, or she would have.

"…hm."

Using her other hand, it sought out her cell phone among the crumpled blankets she had long ruffled in her frustration. It took her a little bit, but soon her hand came across its familiar feel and brought it into view. The little phone was a welcome sight for her sore eyes. It tended to keep her connected with the world, and occupied. With a manicured finger, she flicked the phone open with a skilled practiced movement to open its main screen. But no matter how often she looked at the little window, it didn't change.

"Siiiiiigh."

Snapping the lid shut, she snorted in annoyance. But she really could only message some of her friends so many times before they ran out of things to chat about in only a few sentences. And most of her friends had more of a schedule then she did, so it was too early in the day for her to bother most of them; as they actually had a 9-5 job. And as much as she hated the idea of such a ridged, and inflexible time frame, sometimes she was jealous of the reliability those kinds of jobs would give. Even if they could get boring after a while. That and she wouldn't change her job for any other in the world... but sometimes it would be nice if they could snap their fingers and find a mystery to sink her teeth into.

"Where's an old man Smithers, when you need him?" Daphne said with a grumble, though she didn't really mean it.

Flipping her phone open yet again, she pushed a few buttons before she brought up her contacts list. Pushing the down button, she slowly cycled through the names, hoping that one of them would be someone she had missed, the million and one other times she had looked... and would be able to bug them for a moments reprieve against the boredom. Her eyes scanned over the scrolling list, earnestly hoping a name to mysteriously appear out of thin air.

"... Hmmm... No, no. She's at work and that would be bad if her phone wasn't off or on vibrate. I'm bored, but not enough to cost my friends their job. Nope, not him either. He's at a gallery and now would not be a good time. Though I'll have to bug him later to get an update on how that went… No no... My mother? Um... not _that_ desperate."

As much as she loved her mother, she could be overwhelming at times. And she had a few more days in her left to be bored, before she would take up that option. Especially if her mother had to lecture her about something she had done wrong. Then she would have her ear attached to the phone, wishing for the boredom she had sought to escape instead. _Yeah, not that desperate._

"...nope nope... Fred? Nah, he's just outside working on the van. Hm, no no... Luna is on tour, same for Dusk and Thorn. No no..."

Speeding up in her scanning, she was quickly running out of names on her list to contact. Making a face, she grumbled a bit as the list wasn't long enough for her. (_Even though her contact list probably ranged in the several hundred. But about half of that were the kinds of people she could contact on a whim. If that._)

"... No no... Man, I need more names on my list."

Getting towards the end, one name caught her eye. She was bored, and it was getting on her nerves enough to indulge a side of her that she normally reserved for special occasions, or the right situations. She was feeling Mischievous. With delight in her eyes, she only gave it a little bit of thought, before giving in to the urge.

"Hm... Why not." She said with a smile dawning on her face. Finally finding something to do.

Clicking the name, she pulled up a message and soon was using both fingers to type out her little message. With a grin tugging on the sides of her mouth, she was enjoying the silly little idea she had come up with, and wondered just what kind of message she would get back. Which only made her grin grow wider.

"Heh heh... To Velma... Send!"

Pressing the button dramatically, she held the phone up towards the ceiling as she watched the little bar move across the screen as the message loaded and then got sent to its destination. She hoped that Velma would get it, and respond soon!

"And now… to wait."


	2. Meanwhile In the basement

Unlike the frustrated Daphne, Velma was more than happy for the extra time. She normally had more than enough projects to work on, and if she ran out... (_This hadn't happened in a long time._) She could always come up with more. She was currently located in the main room of her basement. With various table and chairs situation about the room, she had selected one of the more comfortable one and pulled it over to a desk that she had claimed for her current project. Ignoring the rest of the mess that made of the basement. (_Though most was her fault in the first place._) ...A project for another day.

Currently on her long list, had been catching up with some letters she had pushed off till she had more time. She had a few associates that she had through the Scientific Community, which she had been enjoying several on-going debates with that she had been enjoying replying too. Many had very valid points, but none that she couldn't counter with her own points. The pile grew as she gave each letter its own worth and consideration. And she made sure to add in a few replies to fan letters, from several places... to help reset her mind between debates. One of her favorite letters so far, had been a mail about one of her more recent campaigns that she had created for Maidens and Monsters; that the reader had just recently bought. And he was smartly sharing his opinion on her creation. Though she couldn't take full credit for it, she made sure to include in her footnotes that most of the gang had helped her with its creation. Since it was while they ran the campaign, which she had took notes to make the published version the reader had liked.

"I wonder how well people will enjoy now that Daphne's playing. It certainly will change up the dynamic from the rest of the guys." Pausing a second, she had to correct herself. "Though it's Joanne, not Daphne."

Velma said with a smile, pushing back from her desk to stretch a bit. Her neck growing a bit stiff from leaning over the letters she had. As much as she liked typing things out, certain things were best left up to old school methods. If the writer had gone through the effort of writing their letter by hand, she was going to respond in kind.

Reaching over, she pushed a few letters and papers out of the way to reveal a previously buried cup. One that had been lost under the heap that had been growing the more letters she had gotten around too. Picking it up, she gave it a small shake to check for contents. When she felt no swirling movement, she just had to double check and tilted the cup to reveal what she had first known.

The poor cup had been empty.

Giving her shoulders a rotation, Velma ran her spare hand through her hair before groaning and getting to her feet. Pushing her chair from behind her, she shifted to get around it and head for the nearest source of water. Cup in hand, she had two options. One… head all the way upstairs to the kitchen, which had several liquid options to satiate her thirst. Or two, the lazy option which was using the sink that sat in Daphne's dark room.

_Upstairs? Or Lazy?_

Casting her view to the door, Velma pictured the long amount of stairs that awaited her. Plus the small bit of hallway she would have to cross. And then the possibility of the guys doing something in the kitchen that she would have to brave before she would have access to all those options. Or...

Looking over at the darkroom, she wouldn't even have to open the door! Daphne usually left it open unless she was working on something. And then the little red light would be on, to tell her that she wasn't able to come in unless she made sure to use the precautions to prevent the early exposure. But Daphne's last project had been developed a long time ago, so that wasn't a worry. And the water was all hers, with minimal effort.

"... And _this_ is why they call me the Genius." She joked to herself.

Padding over to the darkroom, it had been several days ago that Velma had gotten so used to being home that she had tossed aside her normal socks for her fluffy slippers that Shaggy had gotten her last Christmas. Though she hated the color, she couldn't argue that they were comfortable enough to forget about their visual perceptual property. And she also had traded her normal clothes, for her more worn 'at home' choices. Sweatpants and an old t-shirt Fred had gotten her. Fingering the well-loved shirt, she always snickered when someone would ask her what the Giant 'O' was, in the middle of the reddish shirt. Comfort was top priority at the moment, because she had the time to relax and enjoy it.

Placing her cup under the faucet, Velma turned on the knob and stifled a yawn as she waited for her cup to become full. Not wanting to make it overflow, she turned the handle and took a sip to make the cup more manageable for the walk back to her desk… That's when she heard it.

**_BZZZZZT._**

Leaning back, one eyebrow arched over the top of her thick glasses as she cast a glance back into the main room of the basement. She knew what had been making the noise, but the reasoning for it to be going off was what made up her confused look.

"... Who could be texting me?" Velma wondered aloud, taking another sip of her cup. With no grand rush, since the message would still be waiting for her, she made her way back to the desk to stare down at where her cell phone had unburied itself from the pile of letters from the vibration. Pushing the few bits of paper that sat nearby, she was able to get her hand around the little phone to pick it up and look at it.

"Hmmm..."

Velma was not as skilled as Daphne had been with her cell phone. So it took her placing down her cup of water in order to get both hands on the little flip phone and get the top opened so she could read the awaiting message. Struggling a bit to remember how to get to the messages, she fiddled with a few buttons before the main screen popped up with the new message awaiting her.

-Hiya Velma! Just wanted to give you a buzz. What'cha doing down there? ~The Great Daphne-

Blinking, Velma looked at the message and took in the contents. But the more times she read it, the more confusing it became. Which made her tilt her head to stare at the celling, as if that would make her see past the beams and all the way to the second floor where Velma guessed Daphne had been.

"What the? Why is she sending me messages when she is in the same house? Couldn't she just walk down the stairs?"

Talking aloud, she also cast a hand to wave at the door as she spoke. But then again, she had just opted to drink simple water from the nearby sink, rather than trudge all the way upstairs to get a drink. But at least Daphne would be going with gravity, and coming down was a lot easier than going up. It would take less effort.

"I should go up there and give her a piece of my mind..."

With phone in one hand, she placed down her other hand to lean on the desk. But as she did that, she crumpled a bit of her letters under her leaning hand. Pushing off, she placed down the phone so she could straighten out some of the edges she just had damaged. Sighing, she did want to finish what she had been working on, and Daphne could wait till later.

Pulling out the chair, she settled herself back down and set about organizing the letters, so she could tell which ones she still had to read, and which ones she would have to send out next time she could. Though the little phone sat nearby, ready to buzz any time with the inquisitive but lazy questions from her best friend, two floors above.

Sighing, she flipped open the phone. Typing a quick message, she hoped that it would please the older woman.

-Writing some letter to friends. Other than that, not much.-

Hitting the send button, she clapped the lid shut and picked her pen back up to continue. Slipping a clean sheet of paper from her pile, she placed it in front of her neatly. Running a hand across the paper to flatten it, she rolled the pen through her fingers and was about to start with a new letter when her cell phone buzzed yet again.

One eyelid flickering, she pushed away her annoyance and plucked the cell phone from the side and opened it up with the back of the pen. Pushing a few buttons to bring up the message that awaited her response.

-Who you writing too? Anyone I know? ^o^ ~The Great Daphne-

Sighing, Velma quickly replied. Having to place down her pen, since she would need both hands to type her response. Inwardly cursing at who ever invented the method of texting, as she struggled to hit the right combination of buttons to get out her message. Since her phone had been simple enough to not include a keyboard, not that she needed it. Finally getting it typed out, Velma hoped that her answer would turn Daphne off for more questions, and leave her to her writing in peace.

-No one you really know. A few are from some of the guys from Nasa. We have been discussing various theories on a broad range of subjects.-

Hitting send, Velma placed the phone back on her desk and picked the pen back up. Ink touching paper, Velma started back on her letter. This one had been from her sister, Madelyn. Not a total lie to Daphne, since she had written to some of the guys at Nasa. But right now she was replying to her sister's letter. Madelyn was still in school, though Velma had forgotten which one she was at now. Since her sister had a habit of trying a bunch of different things, and had yet to find a school that really worked for her.

Getting a bunch of writing done into Madelyn's letter, Velma was unhappy when the little phone buzzed again. While she didn't mind holding a conversation with Daphne, this wasn't something Velma considered to be a conversation. Since the definition of it, was an informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words. Or an oral communication between persons. While using the texting feature on the phone could be useful for small notes, it really wasn't very good for long discussions. She wished that Daphne would just get off her lazy butt and come down to chat with her. At least then, she could talk while she was writing. Getting two things done at once, and making good use of her time. But instead she could only focus on one, due to the nature of the cell phone and her lack of experience with cell phone texting, limiting her ability to multitask. Unlike her bored counterpart.

Sighing, Velma read the note and quickly responded. Hoping that this would be the last one, and she would be left alone to write in peace.


	3. Calm before the storm

Content to be outside and working on the van, Fred was oblivious at the growing text war that was brewing inside the household. Unaware of the storm that was starting to brew, and spill out into the peaceful backyard… any moment.

At first, Fred had been bored like Daphne. But once he remembered all the things he had to fix on the van, he found that he had more than enough things to occupy him. Especially with all the crazy driving they all did with the Mystery Machine. Not rain, nor sleet, nor blizzard conditions could stop them from getting to a mystery. But it did take its toll on the poor vehicle. Especially when they ended up running into a particularly large villain on a case, which in turn required their chase scenes to be on four wheels, rather than on foot.

But after all the Mystery Machines before this one, Fred had become rather good at fixing them and keeping the poor vehicle in one piece. And all the projects he was currently playing with were simple and routine. So Fred could practically do them in his sleep. Surrounded by his favorite tools, he had them all organized in such a way that he could reach all of them when he needed them. And he had been already neck deep in one of the many projects when he phone went off in his pocket.

"Huh?"

Pulling on the edge of the van, he used the creeper he was laying on to unearth himself from the vehicle. Face and fingers covered in oil and grime, he tried to carefully get at his phone, without getting too much dirt on it. (_Mainly because he didn't want to hear a lecture from Daphne about getting his precious phone dirty._) But being afraid of leaving a smear, he looked about for somewhere to wipe off his hands before answering it. While normally his work clothes would do, they too had gotten rather covered as he had been working hard and Fred didn't find a spot that he hadn't gotten oily earlier.

Still lying on the rolling work pad, Fred looked around the area in search for his rag that he could use to clean up. And at first glance, he found that it wasn't among his favorite tools but outside arm's length. But it took a bit before he finally spotted it, lying nearby on a counter in the garage...

"Sigh. Great."

Hoping that it would have been closer than that, Fred had to roll himself fully out from under the van in order to extract himself off the creeper and back on his own two feet. Causing him to pause, letting his head swim a bit at the sudden change in elevation and direction. One drawback for having to work while lying down on the job.

"I hope this wasn't an important message." Fred muttered as his head started to clear. He didn't want to rush too much, making the sudden movement add to his already spinning head. Though as he was waiting, another sound went off... telling him that he had a second message to go with the first. But he still didn't want to rush, and end up meeting the pavement face first. At least, not again anytime soon. The memory of the first time he decided to rush after getting up, and then ending up becoming intimate with the ground in a hurry, was still fresh enough on his mind to not want to make that mistake again. It hurt just about the same as getting a rake to the face, which he sadly had experienced once before as well.

"I'm hurrying..." He muttered to his pocket, finally feeling confident enough to move towards the rag. With it in hand, he was able to clean off his hands enough that he felt that he could reach into his pockets without worry of a lecture from Daphne. And just in time, to get another message sound effect as he pulled it loose.

Staring at the little phone, he really didn't use it all that much. He had only kept it on hand in case of emergencies, and when his parents wanted to get ahold of him for some random reason. That, and Daphne had gotten one for all of them and expected for the gang to always have it nearby, just in case. Thankfully it was a simple flip phone, which he could deal with, and not one of the more top of the line. Smart phones. He didn't need anything fancy for himself, just something simple and functional. Fred just dreaded the day that Daphne would give into her trendy impulses and indulge in getting one for her, and in turn 'upgrading' all of them. Though thinking about it, he bet that Shaggy would love having one of those phones, since he could keep on hand a list of his favorite restaurants, and recipes... since no doubt they had an app for it.

_Pity they wouldn't have one for making traps._ Fred thought to himself, chuckling at the idea. Though he doubted that he would have enough time to be searching through his phone to try to use a trap app, when he was in the middle of a chase sequence. Let alone ask a monster to wait, while he tried to set one up according to some random directions that would probably be hard to read on even the best smart phone screens. Amusing thought aside, Fred thought about sticking to good old ingenuity and hands on experience.

Focusing on his phone, he flipped the cover up and scanned the notice inside. It was telling him he had three messages. One from Daphne, and the other two from Velma. Which caused him to pause for a second and let his eyes drift back to the house that was only a few steps away. Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, he just had to shake his head. If the girls wanted to be silly and text from inside, it was their choice. Odd… but still their choice.

Looking back at the phone, he decided to read them in order of oldest to newest. Pushing the button down, he scrolled down the list and selected Daphne's message first. Covering one hand to block the sunlight's glare, he was able to read the small screens text.

-Hiya Fred! You having fun out there, working on the van? ~The Great Daphne-

Blinking, he wasn't exactly sure why he got this text. Though thinking about it, last time he had seen Daphne, she was moping about the house with nothing to do. So maybe she was bored, and decided to cope with it with messaging him. Which made him chuckle.

"Whatever works, Daph." Shaking his head, he was about to respond to her message, when he remember the other two messages from Velma. So just in case, he decided to read them first, before responding to Daphne. So backing out of the first message, he scrolled and selected the second one.

-Dear Fred. Just a heads up, Daphne's on a texting kick. So watch out! She'll drag you into a text war too! :Velmster:-

Snickering, Fred was amused at the heads up, even if it was too late. Since Daphne had already messaged him and definitely expected an answer from him in the next little bit. Though he also laughed at the automatic signature that came with Velma and Daphne's messages. No doubt something that Daphne had set up beforehand. Though he wondered if Velma had a nickname to hers... what his would be with his messages.

"Though... what was in the second message from Velms?" Even more curious then before, Fred backed out of the message and looked at the second one. Unable to catch the snorting laugh that came with him reading the content of her second message.

-Oh my god... I'm just like Daphne. ...Ignore these two messages! :Velmster:-


End file.
